In 30 seconds:
- Do you know how to market for Christmas on TikTok? The video sharing platform is shaking up the way Gen Z shops, and it’s crucial to get your content strategy right.
- Holiday marketing is all about showcasing your brand’s festive potential – it’s a great chance to build community feeling and spread a little branded joy.
- With trending hashtags and festive filters already taking over the app, now is the perfect time to kick your Christmas marketing campaign off in earnest.
Do you hear that? It’s the sound of jingle bells beginning to ring. The countdown to the Christmas season has begun. Already we’ve seen the launch of this year’s festive season TV campaigns, and supermarket shelves are laden with advent calendars, Christmas decorations and gifts.
For big brands and small businesses alike, Christmas is one of the most exciting times in the e-commerce calendar. Everyone is either writing a wish list or searching for gift guides. It’s a prime opportunity to maximise sales before the new year.
For brands looking to nail their Christmas marketing strategies, TikTok should be high priority. That’s because it’s one of the most-used and fastest-growing social platforms. It’s also a favourite of Gen Z – 97% of whom use social media as their main source of shopping inspiration.
When it comes to Christmas marketing on TikTok, there’s a wealth of options for your brand to try. We’ve outlined five hacks to boost your conversion rates this holiday season.
How do you plan a Christmas marketing campaign?
The best way to approach a Christmas campaign across all social media platforms is to nail your brand’s voice in all your social media marketing. This is especially true of TikTok, where authenticity is key to positive engagement with users.
It’s worth figuring out what your brand most wants to achieve. Boosted sales, better brand recognition, or a more engaged audience? All three? When you have your Christmas time goals in mind, finding the hacks that align best with your brand’s online presence is much easier.
When should you promote Christmas products?
Is there ever an agreed-upon right time to start uttering the C-word? Research shows that nearly 70% of customers are already in the Christmas shopping mood well before December.
TikTok themselves have recommended that brands start early on the holiday spirit. Metrics revealed users are searching for holiday shopping hashtags weeks before the end-of-November big day, in anticipation for gifts for their loved ones.
If you haven’t already begun your Christmas marketing campaign, the perfect time is now!
Christmas Marketing Ideas 2021: The Top 5 Hacks
@madisonamateau my christmas wishlist 2021♥️ #fyp #christmaslist
1. See What’s Trending
If you take a look at the trending hashtags, you’ll find that Christmas on TikTok has begun in earnest.
#ChristmasList2021 has 7.8 million views and counting – while tags like #gift and #christmas have more than doubled their views from December 2020, (sitting at 12.7 billion and 46.3 billion respectively).
By incorporating these hashtags into your Christmas marketing campaign, you’ll get your brand in front of a wider audience. Plus, jumping on viral hashtags (like the ever-popular #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt) showcases that your brand doesn’t take itself too seriously. Embracing the fun side of TikTok is a surefire way to elevate brand sentiment while boosting brand awareness.
Don’t forget audios for your campaign ideas, too! TikTok music marketing is a super-star making machine thanks to the propensity of tunes to go viral on the platform. At this time of the year, the trending tunes are sure to add holiday spirit to your content.
2. Leverage Paid Ads and Branded Effects
TikTok provides a range of options for brands looking to promote TikTok videos through paid ads. Their Branded Effect add-ons allow you to push traffic to your webpage or online store using in-app – or even in-camera – Call to Actions. A great example of this is their work with Pepsi Max to boost awareness in the run up to Christmas.
Tools such as TopView and Spark Ads make it even easier to promote your Christmas sales – placing your content front and centre, or highlighting organic mentions of your products. It’ll push all your social media posts up users’ For You Pages.
Just remember: Gen Z tend to distrust traditional advertising. This is one hack to use in conjunction with other methods such as influencer marketing or a fun gift guide for your Christmas marketing campaign.
@bbyyriice AD This is my first time trying the Eylure’s Lash & Line!! I LOVE IT🤍 #EylureLineandLash #EylureLashes
Fanbytes worked with multiple influencers to promote Eylure’s Christmas lashes, gaining over 670k views
3. Work with Influencers
Endorsement from a TikTok influencer can have a huge effect on your marketing conversion rates. That’s because they know the platform best, and they come equipped with expertise, creativity and an audience of their own.
Past campaigns have seen huge successes from influencers coming on board to promote TikTok videos for brands. Take Wanna Date? for example. When the start-up sought to launch their spreads and date-based doughs, they approached Fanbytes to find influencers who would help to send their product viral.
The result? Videos from creators who brought the brand 6.6 million views, as well as over 617k engagements.
(Just call us the spread Santa).
Last year, one of the best Christmas TikTok campaigns came from coffee-chain Pret A Manger, who launched a Christmas season hashtag challenge with the help of a range of influencers under the hashtag #JoyWithPret. The hashtag has since picked up 3.1 billion views.
Christmas is the perfect time to foster connections with creators as they look for ways to stand out amongst the holiday social media buzz. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship!
@mandsfood Who’s the voice of Percy Pig🐷? 🔊 To be in with a chance to win a £250 M&S voucher, simply comment below with your guess by 12am on 4 Nov! T&Cs apply
4. Offer Fun Incentives
Who doesn’t love snapping up a Christmas bargain?
45% of Gen Z say deals, discounts, coupons and offers are the top factors influencing purchasing decisions. So using a snappy video to announce a discount code or flash sale is sure to go over well with your audience.
TikTok also provides ideal opportunities to run festive competitions for your target audience. This year, brands like Marks and Spencer are offering gift cards and giveaways for TikTokers who take part in their Christmas season challenges – like in their recent call for users to guess the cast of their Christmas ad in their #WhoIsPercyPig campaign.
Bringing TikTokers in on your digital marketing fun is an opportunity not to be missed – especially when 25% of Gen Z said they would promote a brand if they felt involved with it in some way.
@kyran EXTREME CHRISTMAS Advert Calendar🎄😱 (December 1st) #christmas #foryou #foryoupage
5. Get into the Christmas Spirit
It’s vital to engage with users on a level that speaks to your business’s identity – but during the festive period, it’s just as important to have a little fun.
This year, embrace the holiday season. Show users your Christmas trees, your festive ugly jumpers, your Christmas gift ideas and your unusual advent calendars. (Remember – TikTok loves episodic content. If you have an advent’s-worth of content to share, December 1st could be the start of a great Christmas sales content push.)
The key to making the most of Christmas marketing on TikTok is championing the platform’s creativity and collaboration in your content strategy.
Be joyful! After all, we wish each other ‘happy holidays‘ and ‘merry Christmas‘, so it’s important to make sure your message fits. If possible, try to be reactive to the trends around you to turn excited users into potential customers.
Using TikTok for Christmas marketing
Research from Shopify predicts that young consumers’ love of ecommerce will change the business landscape. They recommend brands invest in their social media strategies if they want to demonstrate staying power for the future.
If Gen Z are your target audience, TikTok is the social media platform most likely to see you achieve results and connect. This generation make up 40% of the global consumer base – so it’s important to get them on board now.
Stay true to your brand, and don’t be afraid to tie your holiday marketing efforts with all the relevant Christmas-time trends. We can’t wait to see what creative campaigns come from this holiday season.
If you want to find out more about how to nail your TikTok marketing, get in touch!
